Churn.



B. M. GRIFiE-IffE-I 6 1 W. T. MUGULLOUGH.

(j: H URN.

.Aii"MUAIIION YIIJQIJ APE, IN, 19111. LQLlQ E-fidl Patented Out. 8, 1912.

1; SHEETS SHEET 1 WITNESSES INVENTORS flwwwmwzmalaom ATTORNEVS B. M. GRIFFITH & W. T. MQGULLOUGH.

CHURN.

APPLICATION FILED AP1L24, 1912 LMEOASMY, Patented 0cm. 8, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHBBT 2.

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN M. GRIFFITH AND WILLIAM T. McCULLOUGH, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

oHuaN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

Application filed April 24, 1912. Serial No. 692,873.

erence being had therein to the accompanying drawing. This invention relates to churns, and more particularly to certain new and useful improvements in connection with that type of churndisclosed in an application filed by one of the present applicants under date of Sep tember 28th, 1911, Serial No. 651,725.

Besides having the same objects in view as disclosed in the pending application, the present invention aims to provide a churn that is more compact, durable, safer to use, less expensive to manufacture and having a higher degree of efiiciency for the urposes for which it is employed than the c urn referred to in the pending application. A,

'Our invention further aims to accomplish the above results by a combination of mechanical elements that will be hereinafter specifically described and then claimed, and reference will nojwjbe had to the drawings,

wherein there are'illustrated the principles.

of our invention, in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the churn, Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of a combined agitator and aerator, Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the same taken on the line IIL-III of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a por' shown in Fig. 1 has alining horizontal bearings 5, a vertical bearing 6 and legs 7 and 8, the former being swiveled upon a pin 9, carried by the outer side of'the receptacle 1, at the upper edge thereof, said leg being re- -wheel 16 and the bearin tained upon the pin by a winged thumb nut 10. The leg 8 has a projection 11 that engages under a keeper 12 secured to the upper outers') edge of the receptacle 1, opposite the pin 13 denotes a driven shaft journaled in the bearings 5 and mounted upon the outer end of the shaft is a large wheel 14 provided with a crank 15 by which said wheelis manually operated. The inner end of the shaft has a, large beveled gear wheel 16 meshing with a small beveled gear wheel 17, carried by the u per end of a sectional drive shaft 18 that is ournaled in the bearing 6.

19 denotes retaining rings interposed between the bearing 5 and the beveled gear 6 and the beveled gearwheel 17, these retaining rings holding anti-frictional balls 20 in position to insure an anti-frictional movement of the beveled gear wheels relatively to the bearings.

21 denotes a guard casing secured to the bearing 6, as at 22 and inclosing the toothed surfaces of the beveled gear wheels 16 and 17, thereby reducing to a minimum the liabilityof the fingers being injured by contactin with said wheels.

23 enotes a coupling connecting the sections -of the drive shaft 18, said coupling being secured to the shaft by a set screw 24. The lower, section of the drive shaft is-revolubly "supported by the bearing 3 and mounted upon said shaft, within the re ceptacle 1, is a collar 25 that is retained thereon by a set screw 26. The collar 25 is in proximity to the upper end of the lower section of said shaft and arranged upon said collar is a tube 27 of greater diameter than the drive shaft 18. The tube 27 has I the upper end thereof flan ed, as at 28 to engage the upper edges of t e collar 25, and said tube is reamed or rovided with an inwardly rojectin bead 29 that engages the lower e e of t e collar, thereb fixedly holdin t e tube 27 relatively to t e collar. The tu e 27, adjacent to the collar 25, is cut and sheared, as at 30 to provide openings and the cut and sheared material is bent outwardly at a tan ent to the tube to provide deflectors 31, as est shown in Fig. 3. Secured to the upper edges of the deflectors are top plates 32, these top plates deflecting air and matter toward the bottom of the receptacle 1.. The lower end of the tube 27 is cut away, as at 33 to provide equally spaced depending arms 34 that have the lower ends thereof reduced to provide prongs 35. i

36 and 37 denote two plates spaced apart and constituting an aerator and agitator head. The plate 36 has an opening 38 to provide clearance for the lower end of the tube, and the plate 37 has openings 39 for the prongs 35, which are bent against the under side of the plate 37.' The outer ed es of the plates 36 and 37' are spaced apart iy sleeves 40 and extending through said sleeves are rivets 41 that hold the plates 36 and 37. The interiorof the aerator head is in communication with the tube 27 and the 43 denotes one of a set of vertically disposed apertured agitators that are suspended from the upper edges 'of the receptacle 1 by hooks o-r clamps44. The agitator 43 has a curved arm 45 that engages in the wall of the receptacle 1 and maintains the agitator radially disposed relatively to the vertical axis ofthe receptacle. The agitator 43 extends into proximity to the bottom 2 of the receptacle, and the aerator head is similarly located, whereby air can be distributed from the openings 42 into the fluid Within the re ceptacle. The aerator head serves as an agitator in conjunction with the agitator 43, and as the fluid within the receptacle is churned, the solid matter or precipitate is carried to the surface of the fluid, thus permitting of its ready removal, also allowing the unchurncd quantity. of fluid to be thoroughly agitated. By the injectionof air, which is admitted to the aerator head through themedium of the openings 30 and the tube 27, the churning is more expeditiously performed, and a better grade of product obtained. By imparting a rotary movement to the drive shaft 18, the deflectors 31 gather in the air that is forced downwardly in the tube 27, and should solid matter enter said openings, it can readily find its way through the aerator head and flow to the surface of the fluid within the churn.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the combined aerator head and agitator can be manufactured at a comparatively small cost compared to the construction dis: closed in the pending application, and that the frame for the operating mechanism .is such that it can be used in connection with any type of receptacle equipped with a holdfast means for retaining the frame in position.

We would have it understood that the invention is susceptible to such variations and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What'we claim is A churn apparatus including an aerating and agitating head comprising an upper and,

a lower circular plate, said upper plate having radially disposed depressed'portions alternating with plane portions and said lower. plate also having radially-disposed depressed portions alternating with plane portions, the depressed portions in the upper plate being of greater width than the depressed portions in the lower plate and the depressedip ortions in each plate being disposed opposite the plane portions in the other plate, spacing-members, interposed between the outer termini of the depressed portions of the upper plate and plane portions of the lower plate, and means securing said spacing-members in position and connecting the two plates together.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN M. GRIFFITH. WILLIAM 'I. MGCULLOUGH. Witnesses:

MAX I-l. SROLOVITZ, K. H. BUTLER. 

